Chapter 52: Chapter 52

I come to in the back of a truck, bound tight and still smeared with blood and mud. My head is spinning, my stomach is doing flips, and then everything goes dark again.

***

When I wake up again, I’m being hauled out of the truck and into a massive building. I recognize the heavy Albion flags that hang over the entrance before I’m dragged into the darkness inside.

Two men are carrying me. I can feel the icy touch of chains around my arms and legs. I’m helpless as they carry me down some stairs into a circular chamber. They dump me onto a small concrete bench without a second thought.

My head is pounding, but I manage to stay conscious. I take in my surroundings. The walls are a dark gray, adorned with Albion flags bearing the image of a rising phoenix. In the far corner, there’s an empty chair.

One soldier starts to remove my shackles and chains. They clatter to the floor, and he scoops them up. The other soldier slips out of the room, probably to report my capture.

“Strip,” the first soldier commands.

I look at him. “What’s your name?” I ask softly.

He tightens his lips at me. “Strip,” he repeats.

I start to slowly peel off my jacket and sweater. They’re caked with cold mud and blood. I let them fall to the ground. The soldier’s eyes stay fixed on my movements.

“My name is Alexandra,” I tell him as I slide off my skirt. It pools at my feet. I kick it away. He watches me.

“I was exposed to the outside air just after my daughter was born,” I continue. “A Foreigner soldier saved my life that day.”

I meet his gaze as I pull off my shirt.

“Perfect soldiers wanted to kill me. A Perfect mother. But a Foreigner saved me. Because he saw a human who needed help.”

The soldier avoids my eyes. I step toward him, clad only in my underwear.

“I was taken by the Masters. I was taken by Master Eric. He took me to his bed each night, every night, for a year. No baby. I’m the fertile one. That’s been established. I have a daughter.”

I scoff. “And yet, Master Eric decided that I was his and only his. I wasn’t a Mother of Albion anymore. I was a body for the Master to enjoy.”

The soldier quickly moves to a bucket at the back of the room. He drags it over to me.

“I gave myself to all the soldiers like you who visited me in the establishment. That’s what is right, isn’t it? That’s who you’re protecting, isn’t it? The little girls and the little boys. And the Mothers of Albion.

“Did you know that the Masters took us at their own whims? Because I wasn’t the only one in that house with those Masters.”

“Clean yourself,” he says through clenched teeth, handing me a cup.

I look at the bucket of water. Then I glance back at him. “What was her name? The Perfect whom you spent a night with?”

He just stares at me. I bend down and start to pour the water over my body. Mud, ash, and blood trickle down onto the floor. The soldier just watches.

“Have you been outside Albion?” I ask him.

He jerks his chin at the bucket again. I give him a small smile as I bend down and pour water over my head.

He shifts uncomfortably. I let my gaze drop back to his, holding it as I pour the water over my body. His gaze slides down my body, and he swallows hard.

“You probably shouldn’t look at me like that,” I murmur. “Master Eric is a violent and possessive man.”

The soldier’s eyes snap back to my face, rage flashing in his expression.

“The Master is a respectable man! A leader! A Master of Albion!” he spits at me.

I hold his gaze. “No. No, he is not. He’s an infertile, power-hungry, inbred monster,” I answer calmly.

The soldier’s eyes nearly pop out of his head.

“You filthy Traitor,” he growls at me.

“Yes, I am a Traitor.” I nod.

“He will make you pay for your crimes against Albion,” he sneers at me.

I wring out my wet hair. Blood and ash splatter against the floor. I wipe at the blood still trickling from a wound on my head.

“What can he possibly do to me that he hasn’t already?” I ask him.

“He has tried to destroy me before. He has taken the most important thing from me. Imprisoned me. Now I have outsmarted him. Now there is nothing he can do to hurt me anymore.”

I smile at the soldier. “And this is just the beginning. So tell me, what was her name?”

He stares at me and then pulls the now-empty bucket back from me. He strides back to me and grabs my wrists. I keep my gaze on his face as he shackles my hands again and then attaches my chains to a loop in the wall.

Still holding my hands, he towers over me, staring down into my eyes. I see rage swirling there.

“You will burn at the stake, Traitor,” he growls before releasing my hands.

I watch him as he marches to the door. He turns around to give me one last look before slamming the door behind him.

Soaking wet in my underwear, I sit down on the small bench and stare at the door. Good thing I’m so good at waiting. I was raised to sit and wait. I can sit here all day and lose myself in my thoughts.

Immediately, I think of Beth and of little Juliet. I didn’t check to see if they reached Haruhiko. I didn’t want any soldiers following my gaze.

But they weren’t around after the fighting. So I trust in Haruhiko. I trust him with my daughter’s life.

I lean my head back against the cold concrete wall. Sanoske, if he escaped the Perfect ambush on the Chinese, will be furious with me. Though I can’t help but think he’d understand. He’d have done the same for me.

I shut my eyes, letting the memories take me back to the days, just a few weeks ago, when he held me close. When his hands explored me and his lips whispered love onto my skin.

The door swings open again, not even an hour later, and the same soldier steps in. He’s got a pile of clothes and a tray of food in his hands. He tosses the clothes at me and places the tray on the bench.

He unhooks my shackles again, and I quickly put on the gray shirt, tuck it into a skirt, and pull a gray cardigan over it, grateful for the warmth it offers. I gather my hair into a braid and turn to face the soldier.

He’s scowling at me. I grab the plate of food and start eating right away. I finish quickly and set the plate aside. He snatches it up and starts to shackle my wrists again.

“Not so chatty now,” he mocks.

I meet his gaze with a small smile. “More thoughtful,” I correct him. “I’m contemplating my fate.”

“You’ll burn,” he informs me.

“I will,” I agree, nodding. “Don’t we all, eventually, return to Albion to be reborn? Do you truly see me as your enemy?”

His eyes dart over me quickly. “You are a Traitor,” he insists.

“True. But I’m also a Mother of Albion. Look at me, really look at me, and tell me you believe I’m the enemy.”

“Enemies outside and enemies within,” he retorts. I recall reading those same words in a book once.

“Just remember, when I’m finally taken to Master Eric’s room, remember what he truly wants from me. Not babies for Albion, not another servant. He wants a body to warm his bed every night.”

The soldier’s lips tighten as he exits the room, slamming and locking the door behind him.

I sit back down and close my eyes.

***

I’m jolted awake hours later when the door opens. The soldier is back, this time with another one beside him.

They silently unshackle me, and the soldier grabs my arm, leading me through a maze of long corridors and winding staircases. They don’t blindfold me. They don’t expect me to make it out alive.

They guide me into a rectangular room. The sides of the room are lined with vacant gray chairs. The flag of Albion hangs over the doorway behind me.

The walls, narrating the legend of Albion, the Great War, the ash-covered continent, the people rising from the ashes. Perfects.

I know exactly where I am. I’m in the Council, the holy place for Masters. The birthplace of the Perfects. The place where Traitors and Foreigners are tried and sentenced to death.

At the far end of the room is a large window that lets in the bright morning light, illuminating the desolate landscape outside.

In front of the window is a long desk. Behind the desk sit five men. Five Masters. They’re dressed in their long gray robes with red lining.

They’re all the same height, though not the same build. Two are noticeably older than the others. And two catch my attention the most.

First, Eric. His blond hair is slicked back, and his dark eyes lock onto mine instantly.

Next to him stands the Master who was held captive by the Resistants, then the Kagegun, then the Chinese. My fellow prisoner. He glares at me with a rage and hatred that seems to suck all the energy from his body.

The soldier gripping my arm halts me in the center of the room so I can face them all. I lift my chin. There’s one thing I took from the Perfect education I received: when facing the enemy, never show your fear.

I won’t let them intimidate me.

An older Master clears his throat. “Well, now that she’s here, let’s begin, shall we?” he rasps.